ABSTRACT
The birth of an imperfect child is a major crisis for a family, raising powerful and primitive feelings (Solnit and Stark, 1961). The realization that all is not well may be immediate, or may only emerge over a period of time, when normal developmental milestones are not achieved. Withholding information from parents reinforces their fears and fantasies. If they are not even to be trusted with the diagnosis, how can they hope to cope with the difficulties of caring for their handicapped child?
